Sinusitis sufferer, Norman Wiesenfeld, says that living with chronic sinus pain stole every ounce of his energy. “I was trying to go to sleep and had coughing attacks every night and I couldn’t sleep.”
Having no success with a multitude of different over-the-counter medications and other prescription drugs, Norman opted for sinuplasty, a revolutionary treatment for sinusitis.
“It is different than traditional endoscopic sinus surgery that we have been using for the past fifteen or twenty years, this is non invasive and we use it as a catheter similar to the catheter that we use for patients to open up clogged arteries in their heart, we are going to use it to open up clogged sinuses, so we open up those passageways with a balloon that we inflate under anesthesia,” explains Dr. B. Todd Schaeffer of North Shore University Hospital.
Sinuses are the air chambers in the bone behind your cheeks and forehead. They produce mucus that cleans bacteria and other particles out of the air you breathe. Tiny hairs called cilia sweep mucus out of your sinuses so it can drain out through your nose. Sinusitis occurs when the lining of your sinuses becomes inflamed due to a bacterial or viral infection or allergies.
“Most people for sinus disease they are treated with antibiotics, antihistamines, decongestants, once they have tried that and they have had six to eight week of antibiotic therapy, recurrent symptoms for at least three to six months, those patients who have had failed medical treatment they may be a candidate for sinus surgery not everyone,” says Dr. Schaeffer.
During the sinuplasty procedure, a tiny soft guide wire is passed into the blocked sinuses. A special balloon catheter is passed over the wire and placed into position, just inside the natural opening. The balloon is inflated around 5 mm which causes a micro-fracture of the surrounding bone. The sinus is then irrigated and drained using an irrigation catheter. There is no tissue removal.
“I have patient results already at three and four months and the sinuses are still open on exam by patient confirmation and radiographic evidence which is very good news for our patients,” says Dr. Schaeffer.
Norman says that since his surgery three months ago, it’s a whole new world. He’s committed to an exercise regimen and his energy has finally returned. “I feel like a new person, I could breathe, no drip, no cough, my nose isn’t bleeding anymore, I feel terrific.”
The recovery period from sinuplasty is much quicker than today’s standard endoscopic sinus surgery with a return to full activities in just twenty-four hours. With endoscopic sinus surgery it can take 5-7 days for recovery.
Some of the most common symptoms of sinusitis include pain and pressure above your eyebrows, and forehead. Your upper jaw, teeth and cheeks may ache. Pain around, behind and between your eyes and the sides of your nose can all signal sinusitis. You may also have an earache and neck pain, frequent headaches and a reduced sense of smell. If your mucus is discolored or you have cold symptoms that don’t respond to treatment, you may have sinusitis.